Rabbi Bill Kuhn delivered this d’var Torah last Shabbat and interpreted how we can all be “Brave!” Last weekend was “Shabbat Parah” the first Sabbath after Purim, which highlights the connection between the holiday of Purim (last Saturday p.m./Sunday) and the festival of Pesach, which comes exactly 30 days later.

There are a lot of connections between these two holidays especially in perhaps the most important theme of courage. The bravery of Queen Esther who convinced King Ahasuerus to save the Jews from Haman (Boo!) and the courage of Moses who stood up to Pharaoh and said “Let my People go!”

So Purim is the time to begin preparing ourselves for Pesach and to prepare ourselves to be brave.

This is why we chose this them for our Purim video. It is done to the song called “Brave” by popular singer Sara Bareilles. I’d like to thank Cantor Frankel for conceiving of this idea, and Rabbis Maderer and Freedman who helped organize, edit and produce this.

Thank you to the Megillah readers, Rak-n-Kol a capella group, Beth Ahavah Players and Young Friend Purim poets for contributing to a fun and funny Purim Saturday night! Here are 2 poems that were read by our Young Friends, Jen Simon Lento, Laurel Klein and Matt Adler. Read the rest of this entry »

This weekend, celebrate Purim! Saturday night at 7 pm, at our Purim Shpeil and Party, adults will come in costume, hear some Megillah, enjoy the shpeil (skit) and party until we can’t distinguish between Mordechai and Haman! Sunday morning at 9:30 am, at the Purim Carnival, families and children of all ages will hear Megillah, enjoy a shpeil, join a costume parade, and jump on the moonbounce!

Before the silliness begins, let us turn to words of inspiration about how Mordechai, Esther and we, determine our purpose in this world. In his book, Days of Deliverance, 20th c. thinker Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik z”l explores a discrepancy between the mission assigned to Moses, in the Exodus story, and that assigned to Esther and Mordechai, in the Purim story. Read the rest of this entry »

RS Blog is the official blog of Congregation Rodeph Shalom of Philadelphia. Rodeph Shalom is the Reform congregation in Center City Philadelphia and has been serving generations of families since 1795.